Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-09-16
SOLEMN WARNINGS.
EXPLANATORY NOTES BY REV. r..
S. M'ARTHUR, D. D.

Lesson XII of the International Series
Third QUARTER for Sunday, Sept. 10.
Text CT the Lesson, Matt. vii, 1920
Golden Text, Matt. vii, 10.
VS. 49, IA. Enter We In etc.-This is liter
ally through the strait gate: l. e., into the
kingdom of the Messiah, here and hereafter,
or into life eternal The figure requires this
gate to be placed at the beginning of the
journey. Strait, /. e., narrow; opposed to
what is wide, as straight, which is another
form Of stretched, is opposed to that which
is crooked. Strait is used but little except
in geography, as "the straits or narrows of
Gibraltar" and in such phrases as strait
laced, strait jacket, anu "he is In strait
l. e., in "A narrow or tight place. Destruction,
loss, perdition- This will apply with equal
propriety to temporal loss or eternal ruin.
Jesus here presents the characters
tics of the two ways. The exhor-
tation teaches that it is difficult
to begin and to htinue to serve God,
and that it is easy to live a life Of sin. The
difficulty Of being saved and the ease of be-
ing lost are used to stimulate all to make the
necessary efforts to enter the narrow gates.
The fourteenth verse impresses upon us the
same truth Not only is the gate narrow, but the
way is so also. Narrow.-This means pressed
together, contracted, straitened Revised YER
sion) 1t suggests the idea of difficulty the
verb is the root Of the word translated tribu
lation. The strait gates, travellers in the east
tell us, are found in retired corners. They
are not observed by the careless passer by.
They have to be carefully sought; they are
opened TO those who knock; and, as DR..
Thomson says, "When the sun goes down
and night comes on they are shut and locked.
1t is then too late" Sometimes the larger
gate has small one in itself. Perhaps Christ
had these two in mind-the one large and
easily found, the other small and discovered
only by the earnest seeker.
V. Is. Because of these difficulties in enter
ing the strait gate and walking in the mar
row way, we see the need of guarding against
false prophets There are those who will
strive to lead us away; such were the Phari-
sees; such were some who claimed to have
been taught by Christ The word prophet is
not only one who foretells, but also one who
"foretells" and forth tells, one who speaks of
and for God, an inspired teacher of religious
truth. false teacher is one who falsely
claims to teach in Gods name. Sleeps
clothing. This is not to be understood liter
ally, as in the case of the old prophets; the
rough costume, however, came to stand for
the garments of true prophets. All rascals
assume tho manner of saints. This is
compliment to the saints. II there were no
good men, there would be no motive to as
sumo the character Of goodness. Inwardly.
AT heart they are selfish, greedy, wicked,
devilish. This is a striking representation Of
a wicked person assuming the appearance Of
goodness.
vs. 1920. Ye shall know them by their
fruits.-Their actions will soon reveal their
character. No man can long play the hypo-
critic; let him alone and he will soon reveal his
true character Grapes.-The question here
asked is equal to strong negative assertion
We know that grapes and figs were among
the choicest fruits Of Palestine Thorns and
thistles were as worthless as they were com
mon thorns were of various kinds; thistles
represent q particular variety Of prickly
plant. OF course grapes and figs do not grow
in this fashion; to ask the question is to
answer it. Good tree.-A tree which bears
much and good fruit. Corrupt-This literally
means rotten here it means tree which bears
bad fruit, as opposed to the good fruit In
verse 10 we see what is the destiny Of such a
tree-hewn DOWN. g., cut out OF its place in
the orchard That is all 1t is good for. Trees,
like men, get in the end all they are worth.
There is no escaping this terrible law. The
character must be changed or this destiny is
inevitable. These false guides shall be cast
into unquenchable fire. In verse 20 Jesus ap-
plies the comparison to the false prophets of
whom he had spoken. This practical test
enables us to distinguish between true and
false teachers By this test we are to Judge
men today; by 1t we ourselves are to be
judged.
VS.. 2l-23-Here we take a wide reach; not
only false teachers but all false professors Of
religion are here included He here warns
not open enemies, but even his professed dis
ciples Not every one.-Not all who profess
Christ's name shall be among the saved
Lord.-This term recognizes Christ as sover
eign Perhaps thus early this title was given
him by his followers Its repetition gives
emphasis to the significance OF the title; and
also, perhaps, indicates the common practice
Of the disciples. The practical test of love
is obedience Doeth the will Prom verse q
it is certain that the number of false pro
fessors will be great That day is clearly the
last day of Judgment The term might b,
applied either to the introduction or the con
summation of the kingdom. Prophesied
preached, forth telling rather than foretell
ing But even the ability TO foretell futur,
events does not necessarily prove that its pos
SCISSORS were godly. Devils, strictly demons
There is but one devil-he is the head O.
many demons who are his angels Worker
of miracles are not necessarily truly pious
Possibly demons were subject to Judas a
well as to the other disciples. There ar
evangelists and pastors In our own day VIII,
have been used by God in the conversion o
souls who are at heart bad men
In verse % we see that Christ will publicl,
repudiate these impostors He becomes de
cided in his rejection, and says depart from
ME, ye that work iniquity. They never wer
his true followers, and they must now go +
their own place
VS. 24-27 False teachers are rejected
but those also who stand in a merely nega
tive attitude toward evil. those who are hear
ers and not doors of the word, are ais
brought TO destruction. knowledge Of tn
truth, without an observance of its claim.
aggravates the doom Of men. A rock, liter
ally, the rock; not fragment Of rock broke
off, but bed of rock, Of living rock. In II
full sense this rock is Christ Rain, storm
40 a